I follow a low-fat, wheat-free, dairy-free, soy-free, low/free of sorbitol, processed sugar-free, caffeine-free, plant-based diet, making me the image of a fad dieter. When my highly specialized diet comes into conversation, people are either hostile or in awe. “How do you stay so dedicated? I couldn’t do it for more than my two-week cleanse!” But there’s no such thing as “dedication” when the other option is sickness.

Well, not immediate, but close. The truth behind the diet is a medical condition that results in nearly every impolite symptom on the list. If I neglect this diet and its accompanying medications, I can develop stomach ulcers, intestinal damage, esophageal burns and nutritional deficiencies leading to a whole other list of problems.

But hey, gluten-free is trendy, yeah?

The cost of following such a diet is necessary in my budget, but that isn’t the case for everyone taking part. Labeling gluten as the new dietary monster has lead to massive growth in the market, and this growth is not being fueled alone by celiacs and other medically necessary GF-ers, who only make up about 1 percent of the population.

Packaged Facts reported over a five-year period, this market experienced a compound annual growth rate of 34 percent. While the fad has allowed access in many “gluten-free free” areas, increased variety and increased overall quality, it has also resulted in an increase in GF products from big brands, as well as making some GF brands household names. This has made general consumers aware of the incredibly high cost of some GF foods.

Research from Dalhousie Medical School determined, on average, gluten-free foods cost 242 percent more than their counterparts. To exemplify this difference, my preferred GF bread, which comes from one of the most popular brands, costs $5 per loaf and is about half of the size of a regular loaf of bread. If I wanted the same amount of bread as a normal loaf, I’d have to spend at least $10, and that’s if I caught a sale. This unnecessary cost is being taken on by many for little reason other than perceived health.

With money pouring into the market, it seems like the GF food industry is one to enter into, but how long will gluten be the top thing to avoid? Multiple researchers expect an increase of about 40-50 percent in the next few years, but what after that? What happens when people realize they’re saddling a cost that is doing nothing for their health? And what happens to those of us who must avoid these ingredients? How will prices and products change once gluten-free is no longer trendy?

In the same way processed, low-fat foods have fallen from the top spot of food hatred, when will gluten do the same? With a cost that high, the demonized gluten protein could work its way back into diets again.